Shattered Smiles
by ivysaurusrex
Summary: Following the wishes of her sister, Alex Fujioka makes a promise to not get expelled from Ouran Academy. This proves not to be as easy as she thought upon getting dragged into Music Room Three. As she tries to adjust to their friendliness, bits and pieces of her nightmare inducing past resurface.
1. Chapter 1

"Alex, it's time to leave for school," I heard my sister, Haruhi, announce through my closed door.

"I'm up. I'm up," I replied from my bed in a half-asleep daze.

Deciding that I should get ready, I rolled off my comfy bed and onto the floor. I lied there for a few minutes until Haruhi decided to knock on my door.

"Get ready. I'll be leaving in ten minutes with or without you," she informed me while poking her head into my room. Upon seeing me on the floor and staring at the ceiling, the reached in and flipped the light switch.

"Son of a bitch! I was staring directly at the light!" I exclaimed, quickly sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"Get ready, we leave in ten minutes," Haruhi chuckled, closing my door.

"Fuck you!" I yelled at the closed door but stood up anyways.

Stretching my limbs and ridding myself of any leftover sleep, I navigated around my mess of a room and to my closet.

My outfit was composed of the first things I pulled out of my closet. I wore a not so tight but supposed to be, red long sleeved shirt, a pair of grey skinny jeans, and my red sneakers. After checking my appearance in the full length mirror mounted onto a wall of my room, I adjusted my contacts and ran a brush through my hair before exiting my room.

Dad was still sleeping, so it was just Haruhi and me in the living room. Taking one look at how my sibling was dressed, I went straight to the bathroom. I emerged a few minutes later with a flat chest and and even roomier shirt.

"Why do you insist on looking like me when we aren't even blood related?" Haruhi asked when she saw me. I had used some bandages to bind my chest. It might not be the healthiest way to do it, but I figured I would not stay at school for more than an hour.

"You should probably know by now that I like to confuse people," I replied, picking my school bag up. My chest felt extremely restricted and breathing was difficult. "Damn, I gotta buy a binder later."

"Whatever. Now we've gotta go or we'll be late."

With that, she dragged me out the front door. I slid my iPod and ear buds out of my pockets and began listening to music.

By the time we arrived at Ouran Academy, we were already ten minutes late. Haruhi noticed this, grabbed me by my wrist, and proceeded to pull me down the empty hallways at a fast pace.

"For fuck's sake, Haruhi. Was it really necessary to make me run down the god damned hallway?!" I angrily questioned my sister. Sadly, though, I had yet to realize that we had an audience.

"Mr. Fujioka, would you please refrain from using that kind of language in my class," a voice kindly tried to order me.

"Oh fuck off, I wasn't talking to you," I responded in a snippy tone. Turning to face the person I was speaking to, I came face to face with the teacher. He seemed stunned by the fact that I spoke to him like that. Before any more words could be said, though, I was yanked into the hallway.

"I need to have a word with my brother," Haruhi explained as she closed the door. She spun to face me as though I was supposed to give her an excuse or apology.

"In all honesty, I do not feel like I should apologize," I started. "It's not like he should-"

"That's not it, Alex. That's just not it," Haruhi interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose out of frustration. Removing her hand from her face, she continued, "Look, I'm thrilled that you're finally getting back to your old self. Hell, I wasn't even sure you would start talking again, but you did. The thing is, you need to start filtering what you want to say before you open your mouth. We got here on scholarships. They could kick us - you - out for reckless behavior. Please try not to do anything that could cause that to happen."

I let what she said sink in. I had yet to even think about getting my scholarship revoked. Last year of school, I was almost expelled more times than I can count. The only reason Ouran would take me in as a student is due to Haruhi. Might as well not get kicked out while I attend.

"Fine," I said with a sigh, "I promise to watch my language and not fight anybody."

"Good," Haruhi said, relieved.

"Hey, I wasn't finished. I promise not to do those things during school hours. After that, it's free game," I added on to my deal.

Haruhi seemed to think this over for a second before replying, "I guess that's as good of a promise I'm gonna get. Let's get back in the classroom before class ends."

I allowed her to grab my hand and pull me back into class. The teacher had decided to carry on with whatever he was teaching, but paused when when we set foot back into the room.

"Sorry about that," apologized Haruhi.

The teacher just waved us off and told us to take a seat. Unfortunately, the only open seats were on the opposite sides of the room. There was only one solution to this problem.

I walked to the vacant desk in the back as Haruhi went to sit between a pair of identical twins. Upon reaching my desk, I lifted the chair into the air and made my way towards Haruhi's desk.

"What do you think you are doing?" The teacher questioned.

I just placed the chair next to my sibling's, Sat in it Indian style, and began to copy what was on the board in a notebook.

The rest of my classes went by smoothly. I would somehow find a way to piss each teacher off. I'm pretty sure that, even if she wanted to, Haruhi couldn't be mad at me with how I handled each teacher. For example, one teacher had demanded that I turn my music off. My reaction was to blankly stare them dead in the eyes as I maxed out the volume on my iPod. I don't believe that I've seen my sister try so hard to suppress laughter before.

Now was our free period. Haruhi was dragging me through the school's libraries to study. Honestly, I have no idea why she wants to go ahead and and start burying her nose in books. The school year just began.

"Ugh, don't people know libraries are supposed to be quiet?!" She yelled, throwing her arms up. I simply shrugged in reply.

We started off towards the fourth, and final, library. I guess I got a little distracted by my music because when the song ended, I noticed I was without Haruhi.

Damn, must've turned down a hallway on accident. Oh well.

Picking a random direction, I walked until I had to climb a flight of stairs. Then, I was greeted with one of the best sights ever: the music hallway.

Approaching Music Room One, I heard people within the room and instantly walked away. Room two seemed quiet so I peeked into the room. Perfect, it's empty.

Once the doors had clicked shut behind me, I paused my music and removed the ear buds from my ears. I slid them into my back pockets as I explored the room. Mainly, there were orchestra instruments.

"Boring," I mumbled to myself. I was prepared to leave until something caught my eye. A piano.

Sitting myself down onto the piano's duet bench, I allowed my hands to hover over the keys. With a deep breath, my finger began to glide on top of the keys.

I have no idea how long I sat there. I just played the first songs to pop into my head, and when I ran out of those, I just pressed random keys to make a good sounding tune.

Once I could not think of another good tune, I brought my hands aways from the piano. Shockingly, there was an applause.

"Bravo! Wonderfully played!" a voice echoed, bringing life to the room.

I was genuinely startled, causing me to fling myself over the back of the bench. I landed on my back with a thud, and my head snapped towards the sound. There were six people in the doorway.

A tall blond with an apologetic look on his face - I assume he is the one who shouted started to walk over to me. I sat up quickly and slowly inched backwards. My heart was racing.

"Stop it, senpai!" a new voice commanded the blond. It was Haruhi. That put my nerves to rest somewhat, but I still had my guard up.

"So the two of you are honor students?" the bubbly blond, now known to me as Tamaki, asked.

We had moved into their club's room: Music Room Three. The six of them- Tamaki, Kyoya, Hani, Mori, Hikaru, and Kaoru- were gathered around Haruhi and me. After things died down in the other room, I had begun to hide behind Haruhi.

"As I have previously stated, Haruhi in on an academic scholarship, and his twin, Alex, is on a scholarship for the arts. More specifically, music," Tamaki's bespectacled sidekick read from his laptop. He was obviously searching through our school files.

"That's odd," Kyoya stated. The ginger twins had stopped pestering me in order to peek over Kyoya's shoulder.

"What is it, Kyo-chan?" Hani questioned from where he was eating an entire cake. His ability to do that baffles me.

"It seems as though someone has deleted the remainder of Alex's file," he answered the small blond. As soon as he said that, Haruhi glanced at me. I just shrugged, pretending that I have no idea what they are talking about.

"Never mind that, we have more important matters to discuss," Takami stated acting serious for probably the first time in his life. "Now, Haruhi Fujioka, how do you plan on paying for the vase you broke?"

My attention was caught by this. Slowly, I pulled my knees from my chest and sat up straight. I was curious as to what he was talking about.

"Oh, he didn't tell you? Your clumsy twin here knocked over a vase worth 8 million yen," two voices explained in unison. Hikaru and Kaoru had magically appeared next to me, slinging their arms over my shoulders.

Of course, their invasion of my personal bubble startled me, and I launched myself off the couch. This proved to not be as smart of a decision as I thought since I fell towards the coffee table conveniently placed between the two couches. My face collided with the edge of the table, stunning me. I guess my ear buds got ripped away from me during my fall because I could now hear everything clearly.

"You devil twins! What did you do?!" The alarmed voice of Tamaki could be heard over the other commotions in the room.

I sat in the floor with my legs under the table. My body was slightly curved over it and I could tell that something was wrong. There was some sort of substance dripping from my nose and onto the table. Bringing a hand up to my face, I pulled it away with a confused look and ignored all of the worries in the room. A red liquid glistened over my fingertips, and before I could process anything, a hand was thrown over my eyes.

"Will everybody shut their mouths!?" I could hear my sister shout angrily as everyone finally became silent. She had pressed a cloth to my face in order to stop what I had now registered as a nosebleed.

I felt very light headed as orders were thrown around the room by Haruhi. Feeling my body shutting down, everything faded as I slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Noise. That was the only thing I could grasp as I slowly began to regain consciousness. Actually, it wasn't even noise; it was music.

"_Wide eyed, panic on the getaway_

_The high tide could take me so far away_," I took note of the song I was listening to. It was "Rainbow Veins" by Owl City. I guess this was Haruhi's way of telling me to relax.

I allowed the song to finish playing before opening my eyes. I was lying on a couch. Sitting up, I took in the appearance of the room around me. It was much smaller compared to the music room from before. There were various outfits strewn across it. A full length mirror sat next to a dresser in the corner.

I guess I better examine the damage I have caused myself yet again.

Still feeling slightly light headed, I staggered over to the mirror and took in my reflection.

There was no serious damage done. Well, nothing that I am not used to. My left eye had a little bruising around it, giving it the appearance of a black eye. The bridge of my nose was swollen, but not that much. Overall, I would say that I am in good shape.

I was about to turn away when something in the mirror caught my eye. My shirt was missing.

"Wow, you almost break your nose, pass out, and then forget to notice an article of clothing was missing from your body? Smooth, Alex. Just smooth," I told myself as I searched the room for my shirt.

After rummaging through the room a bit, I came to the conclusion that my shirt is lost forever. I sat in the floor with my back to the door, gently thumping my head against it. At least, I thought it was gently. Despite what I thought, I had alerted someone to the fact that I was awake. The only reason I knew this is because I heard a knocking over the music in my ears.

Opening the door just a tad without thinking, I am greeted by the face of Kyoya. He casually looks down a bit, and it was then that I realized I was still shirtless. I reach out, grab his sleeve, pull him into the room, and slam the door shut.

"So it seems as though you actually are a girl," he said, trying his best to look anywhere in the room but at me. I just stared at him. It was quite amusing to see Kyoya Ootori - well known for his lack of emotion - trying to keep his composure when it was obvious he was uncomfortable.

"I can also assume that you're mute, correct?" He questions as he finally gives up and looks me in the eye.

I shake my head in response as I fall back to sit on the arm of the couch. Kyoya looks confused and slightly angry but only for a split second. I guess he is not used to being wrong. As he brings his emotionless mask back up, he asks another question.

"You can talk?" He wonders, and I nod. "You're just selectively mute."

I just tap the tip of my nose to signal that he is correct this time. Kyoya stares at me and opens his mouth to ask me yet another question, but he pauses. I guess he has finally noticed the scars scattered here and there over my torso.

"I must get back to club duties. Your brother had asked me to check on you when you woke up," Kyoya explained. He turned around and began to rummage through the dresser's drawers. After a minute or two, he walked over and handed me two pieces of folded up clothing.

"This should be your size," was all he said before leaving the room.

Carefully, I unfolded the clothes and realized that he handed me a chest binder as well as a giant sweater. I stepped over towards the door and locked it before removing the bandages from my chest. Slipping into the binder, I found it easier to breath now than with my horrible binding skills. The sweater I was given was solid black and extremely baggy when I put it on. It hung off of one shoulder no matter how many times I fixed it, and it reached to the middle of my thighs.

"Whoever owns this sweater will not be getting it back, " I whispered to myself as I rolled the sleeves up. If you have not figured it out yet, I am in love with oversized long sleeved shirts.

I sigh to myself. I could either die of boredom in this empty room until Haruhi comes to get me, or… or I could actually go out and see what is going on. I pushed back my fears and opened the door.


	2. Chapter 2

The club was in full swing, meaning there was a lot of unfamiliar faces in the room. Closest to the door sat Kyoya upon a chair in front of one of the many large tables. Several feet away sat Tamaki, he was lounging on a couch with two girls on either side of him as well as three girls on the couch across from him. I noticed the twins on the other side of the room pretending to be in some kind of forbidden love with each other. At least, I think they were pretending.

I turned to my left and noticed that the path to the door was clear. Nobody has noticed me, so I should get out of here before someone does.

Slowly, I made my ways towards the door. I was about halfway there when I got distracted. There was a piano a few feet to my left. Not like that budget cut piano in the other room, but an actual grand piano.

"Hey, Takashi. Isn't that your sweater?" A cheery voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

Damn, I had forgotten all about him. Stupid piano; I had made a mistake in pausing to admire its beauty. Hastily, I picked up my pace towards the exit. The minute my hand closed around the doorknob, someone had grabbed my wrist. Deflated, I turned to see who prevented me from my escape.

"Come sit with us!" Hani practically ordered me, pulling me over to the table they were sitting at.

Once we reached our destination, I sat on one of the chairs and stared at my lap. That small scene caused almost everyone to focus their attention on me, seeing as I am unfamiliar. People began to whisper in wonder at who I am. I hit the volume button on my iPod until music drowned out the voices around me.

I jumped as someone tapped my shoulder. Bringing my head up, I noticed that Kyoya had walked over with a dye-erase board in hand. Giving it to me, he explained the reason behind it.

"Use this to talk with the guests. If we lose sales because you were being rude, it will be added onto Haruhi's debt," I read his lips as he spoke. He was no doubt talking with a monotone voice, though. This guy was almost as heartless as me.

I was about to show him a rude gesture that involves my middle finger, but he had walked off. With that, I turned to the group at the table and removed the marker's cap. I paused slightly before writing on the board.

"Got any questions?" I wrote on the board in my rushed handwriting. Obviously, they had questions. The girls at this table have not taken their eyes off of me since I appeared. The words upon the board launched them into action.

"How old are you?" The brunette on my right asked.

"Are you here on scholarship, too?" The black haired girl asked.

"Are you mute?" The redhead asked.

I held a hand up to halt their questions. Once they finally did stop, I wrote quickly on the board.

"Stop the interrogation! One question at a time; please and thank you," it read.

They giggled in response. What was funny?

I thought for a moment before writing answers in the order of the questions.

"I'm 16. Yes. Kinda," I wrote. The three seemed satisfied by the first two answers but confused by the last one.

"What do you mean?" Hani questioned. He looked just as confused as the girls.

I quickly jotted down two words,

"Selectively mute."

This seemed to peak their curiosity. Just before one of them could ask the question I dreaded, a voice reached my ears.

"I'm back!" Haruhi called out over all of the noise.

I turned to notice she was carrying three bags full of groceries. Quickly, to avoid any other questions, I walked over to help her. I took two of the bags and set them on the table closest to us.

"Thanks," she breathed. I assume those were the heaviest bags. That's odd, they did not seem heavy to me.

"You're welcome," I spoke, using my hands instead of my voice.

"Here, hold this one too," she ordered, shoving the remaining bag in my arms.

Curious as to what she was doing, I carefully watched her movements. Her hands wrapped around a strap going across her chest. My face broke out into a grin as I realized what it was.

"I stopped by the house to get this. Figured we would be here for a while ,and you need a distraction," she explained, trading me the object for the bag. "Sorry I didn't grab your electric; you left it at Rei's."

"Thanks, you're the best," I signed before putting the strap over my head.

"You play guitar?" A voice wondered, startling me.

I closed my eyes as my reflexes kicked in. Spinning around on the toes of my left foot, I shot my right fist out to punch the mystery person. When my fist hit empty air, I opened my eyes in confusion.

There stood Tamaki, with Haruhi's hand on his shoulder. The spot I went to hit was only a few centimeters from his face. If Haruhi had not been there to pull him out of the way, he would have received a broken nose.

I drew my hand back to my side as I realized what I was close to doing. The groups of girls as the closest table had seen everything and began whispering amongst themselves. I was on edge at the sudden attention. Needing to get out of there before I freaked out, I turned and started to leave, but Haruhi seized my hand and pulled me back.

"Hey, you're not going anywhere," she told me. "Why don't you play a song to calm down. I'm pretty sure everyone would love to hear you sing."

The guests and even the hosts began to nod in agreement. I shook my head; I did not really feel like singing at the moment. At least not in front of these people.

"Plus, depending on the song you choose, I could have enough time to put these things away. If I do, we can leave immediately afterwards," Haruhi informed me. I nodded enthusiastically. She just laughed at my sudden change of thought and walked off with the bags from the table.

I turned to face the crowd that had formed around the two of us. Taking a deep breath, I adjusted the guitar's strap around my body. I already had a song in my mind. Three minutes is enough time. Right?

I strummed the strings on my guitar and began to play the song's opening. After about ten seconds, I started to sing.

_"She held the world upon a string_  
_But she didn't ever hold me_  
_Spun the stars on her fingernails_  
_But it never made her happy_  
_Cause she couldn't ever have me_  
_She said she'd won the world at a carnival_  
_But she could never win me_  
_Cause she couldn't ever catch me"_, I sang, shaking my head as though I was saying no. Gasps could be heard. I guess some of the people did not know I could talk.

_"I, I know why  
Because when I look in her eyes  
I just see the sky  
When I look in her eyes  
Well I, just see the sky  
I don't love you I'm just passing the time  
You could love me if I knew how to lie  
But who could love me?  
I am out of my mind  
Throwing a line out to sea  
To see if I can catch a dream_," I scanned the crowd trying to read their expressions. Some were awe, others were… love? Ah well, it was probably infatuation. I ignored it and carried on with the song.

_"The sun was always in her eyes_

_She didn't even see me_

_But that girl had so much love_

_she'd wanna kiss you all the time_

_Yeah, she'd wanna kiss you all the time_

_"She said she won the world at a carnival_

_But I'm sure I didn't ruin her_

_Just made her more interesting_

_I'm sure I didn't ruin her_

_Just made her more interesting," I was positive I had gained everyone's attention by this point. I took a breath as I prepared to sing the last bit of the song._

_"I, I know why_

_Because when I look in her eyes_

_I just see the sky_

_When I look in her eyes_

_Well I, I just see the sky_

_"I don't love you I'm just passing the time  
You could love me if I knew how to lie  
But who could love me?  
I am out of my mind  
Throwing a line out to sea  
To see if I can catch a dream,_" I ended the song after a few more notes.

Footsteps could be heard as Haruhi reappeared. I just ran over, grabbed her hand, and dragged her out of the room.

"I can't believe you made me do that!" I practically shouted at Haruhi as we made our way along the sidewalk.

She held up her hands in defense,

"I merely suggested that you sing."

"Well, you had to have known I would with the way you phrase it," I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.

I turned left and began to walk down another road. Realizing that we were no longer heading in the direction of home, Haruhi spoke up,

"Where are we going?"

"The café. If you had been paying attention, you would've heard me say that five minutes ago," I replied as we stopped next to a crosswalk where the sign told us to wait.

"I clearly don't remember hearing those words coming from your mouth," Haruhi said. I thought back on it; I could've sworn I said it.

"Oh man, I think I had another moment where I thought I said something out loud, but I only said it in my head," I explained, slapping my hand against the my forehead. "Anyways, we're going to the café."

"But I thought you were off today?" she replied with a confused expression.

We began to cross the street.

"I am. I just need caffeine."

"You need sleep, not caffeine," Haruhi corrected me. I just stuck my tongue out at her in response.

"We're here!" I shouted with glee, causing a few people at the outside tables to look over and smile at me.

The cafe was fairly small. It had a brick exterior with a sign hanging over the door. The sign read "Rei's Café". Creative, I know. The inside was full of white tables and chairs that stood out against the grey walls and black floor. There was a stage in the back of the place for the live performances that made this place popular.

"Alex, you're here! I was just about to call you!" exclaimed the woman from behind the counter.

Her name was Rei. She was about five foot eight and always wore a cheerful smile. Rei had long black hair that was pulled back into a loose bun. Her brown eyes were full of happiness which to this day still baffles me.

"Yeah, I just got out of school. Dragged Haruhi here to get some coffee," I gestured to my sister, who trailed through the crowd behind me. It honestly was not difficult to reach the counter. People moved to the side once they recognized me.

"Hate to say this, but you've gotta work today. This place is too crowded for me to handle," Rei told me whilst taking someone's order.

"Sure, but could you still get Haruhi something?" I questioned. She replied with a nod of her head, and Haruhi sat down at our usual table.

I made my way towards the stage, gaining stares in the process. Once on stage, I replaced my acoustic guitar with the electric one that I had left here the last time I was here. I flicked the switch on all the speakers and amps. As I walked over to the laptop set up at the back of the stage, people began to shout questions to me.

"Why are you here?!"

"I thought you had school!"

"Whose shirt is that?!"

I chose my playlist on the laptop and went up to the mic.

"I'm here because you idiots are not capable of forming simple lines and instead crowd the place up. School is out for today. None of your business," I answered the questions in order. "So, who's ready to hold a concert?!"

Everyone in the building roared with excitement. I made a grab for the mic in order to move it, but the sweater's sleeves got in the way.

"Damn comfy sweater," I muttered under my breath. "Hey, Rei! Swap shirts with me!"

"What the hell?! Why would I do that?!" she shouted back at me.

"Because you love me," I responded. People in the crowd laughed at my request, but Rei traded shirts with me anyways. I was now wearing her white and black plaid shirt that I refused to button up. At least this binder Kyoya gave me had the appearance of a binder.

"Now, shall we get this concert started?" There were various shouts of "Yeah!" that rippled through the room. I rolled up my sleeves and hit play on the playlist. I played the part of guitar that was not on the tracks in my playlist. My voice rang out as the room became silent.

_"I fought it for a long time now  
While drowning in a river of denial  
I washed up, fixed up, picked up all my broken things  
'Cause you left me, police tape, chalk line  
Tequila shots in the dark scene of the crime  
Suburban living with a feeling that I'm giving up  
Everything for you_," I began to sing the first song on the two hour long playlist.

"Nice performance," Haruhi told me as I joined her at our table. She had begun working on her homework not too long ago.

"Thanks," I replied, sipping on my steaming hot coffee.

The cluttered mess of a crowd had died down immensely, meaning that it was okay for me to take a small break. Once I was ready to play again, I planned on taking requests. It was not required for me to do so, but I feel that the people in here need a chance to choose a song they love and or relate to.

I spent the next five minutes playing different games on my iPod. Standing up, I stretched my back, earning a few pops here and there. Before, I could make it to the stage, though, the door opened, and I glanced at the new faces.

"What the fuck are they doing here?" I questioned quietly. Haruhi looked over to see who I was talking about and dropped her pencil in surprise. They just walked up to the counter, not taking notice of us.

"You sure this is the place, Hani-senpai?" two voices wondered together.

"Positive," a cheery voice replied.

"Welcome to Rei's Café! How may I help you?" Rei asked as she turned around from facing the coffee maker. When she looked at them, recognition flickered across her face. "Hey, Alex! These guys go to the same school as you and Haruhi!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the wait! Hehe, I just would be typing and then lose interest halfway through. Anywho, here's an extra long chapter. Hope you like it!**

* * *

As the hosts turned around to figure out who Rei was talking to, I did the first thing that I thought of. Grabbing Haruhi's arm, I threw us onto the floor. We landed with Haruhi's back against the floor, me hovering over her, and my hand covering her mouth to prevent her from shouting at me.

"Alex?" I could hear Rei's voice question. Several people at the tables surrounding Haruhi and me paused what they were doing to look at us.

I could hear footsteps approaching. As I looked up to see whose they were, I was greeted with the sight of Rei pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Alex," she sighed. "Could you at least let Haruhi up?"

I nodded to her and rolled off my squished sibling. As she stumbled to her feet, I sat up and quickly buttoned up my shirt. Rei had her hand held out to help me up.

"Why don't you introduce me to this lovely bunch?" she asked when I was standing. I huffed and glared at her.

"I'm almost positive that Haruhi has told you about this 'lovely bunch'," I retorted. Her face held a look of confusion for a split second before changing into one of remembrance.

"Oh. So that's why you buttoned up the shirt. Because they think you're a guy," she said, all of the pieces falling into place.

"Why don't you go do some requests?" Haruhi suggested, before I could think of a sarcastic remark.

"Why don't you go sit with them before they drag us over there. You need to relax and quit worrying about me all the time," I told her. Turning to Rei I continued, "The same goes for you. Go relax for yourself; I'll be fine."

With that, they were off to their separate destinations.

I glanced between the table- my table- where Haruhi and the hosts were sitting and the stage a few times. My mood for the day was shot by their sudden appearance. I ran a hand through my hair, letting it rise then fall into my face. Allowing my voice to reach the entire café, I spoke,

"Sorry everybody. My mood for tonight's kinda blown. Can I make it up to you by holding requests all day next time?"

Murmurs of "Yeah" ran through the room. I let out a sigh of relief. I made my way towards the table, determined to not speak for rest of the night.

As I sat down, the table became silent. My obvious bad mood had Tamaki looking terrified for some reason. Everyone else just looked uncomfortable. Haruhi sat to my left, finishing up her last bit of homework.

"Hey, boss, I think we showed up at a bad time. He doesn't seem too happy," the idiot known as Hikaru whispered into Tamaki's ear. Sadly, he did not know how well me hearing is.

That little statement made me snap for some reason.

"No shit. Would you be ecstatic if people that you hate with a fiery passion waltzed into one of the few places you felt comfortable in? Well, EXCUSE ME for not opening up and giving you my entire life story!" I shouted.

My tolerance for these imbeciles was wearing thin. In the middle of me speaking, I had raised my voice immensely and stood so abruptly that my chair had fallen back.

I could hear movement and talking all around.

"Come on, Alex, sit and calm down," Haruhi said as she picked my chair off the floor. "Being bitter towards them won't help with your anger."

"Fuck off!" I yelled at her before processing what she had said.

A loud smack echoed throughout the room.

Not even a second after those words came out of my mouth, Rei had turned me around and slapped me so much force that my head snapped to the side.

"Go take a walk," she told me in a stern voice. Me, not being in my right state of mind, began to talk back.

"Why the hell shoul I-"

"Now," she ordered.

"Whatever," I mumbled under my breath as I pushed past her and out the door.

* * *

"No!" I screamed as I fell to the ground.

After my three hour walk yesterday, I had returned home and went straight to bed.

I could hear what I assumed was Haruhi running into my room.

By now, I was sitting with my back against my bed and my knees pulled to my chest. It felt as though all of the air was squeezed from my lungs. No matter how fast I was breathing, no air was finding its way to me. I'm pretty sure I was hyperventilating.

"Alex? Can you hear me?" Haruhi's voice echoed in my mind. I was having a difficult time focusing on my surroundings. After a few seconds, I nodded.

"You've gotta sit up, okay?" She said.

I slowly uncurled myself. Once I sat up straight with my legs in front of me, Haruhi grabbed my blanket and wrapped it around me.

"Now, we've gotta slow your breathing. Remember our process?" Haruhi spoke with a calm tone.

She took a deep breath, and I did the same. After holding it in for about five seconds, we exhaled for seven. We repeated this routine eight more times.

"You okay now?" She asked me. I nodded, not ready for talking just yet. I'm afraid that if I do, I'll break down.

"Come on, let's get you in the shower."

While I was taking a shower, Haruhi had set some clothes out on the bathroom counter. I was grateful that she gave me one of her shirts to wear. It reminded me that I was not alone in this world.

Once I was out of the shower, I began to dry myself off. Afterwards, I blankly stared at my reflection in the mirror. My brown eyes were dull and void of any and all emotions. They have been that way for a while and probably will stay that way.

"Alex? You okay in there?" Haruhi questioned, knocking on the bathroom door. I was jolted from my thoughts and gave a response.

"Yeah."

I emerged after I had put the clothes on. Joining Haruhi at the kitchen table, she slid a cup of coffee towards me. I took a sip and shook my head at the sudden rush of caffeine.

"You should stay home today," she suggested, breaking the silence. I glanced up from my coffee and pondered the idea.

"Not gonna happen. Don't you think it would be better for me to have a distraction than to stay alone with my thoughts?" I mumbled, bringing the mug back to my lips.

It was true. If I were to stay home from school, I would be the only one in the apartment. Dad was out of town. Plus, after the last time I stayed home alone, I was kinda shocked Haruhi suggested it. Last time ended with a trip to the hospital after my thoughts became too negative.

I glanced at the clock on the wall and sat my mug down.

"Come on, we're gonna be late."

We arrived at school a little early. The hallways were fairly empty but there was a roar of excitement coming from the courtyard. Haruhi decided to check it out. I just made my way towards class.

There was only a handful of people in the room. I set my belongings on Haruhi's desk and stepped to the back of the room. As students began filing into the room, I rearranged the desks so that there was an extra one next to Haruhi's. I sat down, pulled out my notes from the previous day, and began searching for a different playlist on my iPod.

"Woah, you moved the desks," was Haruhi's lame greeting. I nodded since there were too many people in the room to talk.

I flipped to the next blank page in my notebook. Taking my pencil, I wrote,

"What was all the commotion?" My message read. Haruhi was now in her seat and preparing her desk for class. Once she had everything adjusted, she turned and read it.

"Oh, it was the Host Club," she responded with a shrug.

"Oh, the idiots," was the next thing I wrote.

It was at this moment that the idiotic twins waltzed into the room. They looked at my desk then glanced at each other. Without missing a beat, the two sat down and spoke at the same time,

"Hey, Haruhi."

"Hello," Haruhi politely replied.

Where was my greeting? Not like I would have acted nice towards them, but still. I dislike being left out.

"Why are you sitting there?" Kaoru questioned me. I flipped a page in my notebook and scribbled a short reply.

"I feel like it," was what I wrote.

"Okay... So Haruhi, are you coming to the club today?" Hikaru asked. Haruhi sighed and nodded.

"I'd have to in order to pay off my debt anyways," she reminded him. Clearly, she was dissatisfied with that fact.

Before any more conversations could begin, the teacher walked in and class began.

Not even fifteen minutes into the class period, I was already annoyed. Hikaru and Kaoru had been throwing notes the entire class. Unfortunately for me and Haruhi, we were sitting between them. I've had to dodge their wads of paper countless times. The teacher seemed to not notice. How? I had no idea.

After enduring the torture of listening to paper crinkling and having it almost hit me in the face, I just calmly reached up and caught the note once the next time it was tossed. Kaoru made an attempt to take it from me, but I glared at him, causing him to freeze in his seat. I noticed that Hikaru had tensed up as well.

I slowly unfolded the note, checking every few seconds to see if the noise caused the teacher to turn around. Once I had flattened it out on my desk I scanned over it. Honestly, the contents of the note did not phase me; I was just surprised to see it pop up so soon.

The note started off as Hikaru asking Kaoru what he thought would be happening in their club. Kaoru responded, saying he did not know. Then it kinda changed to them speculating as to why I do not talk. It went kind of downhill from there and began to bring up memories that I wanted to fade away.

I sat straight up in my desk, turned my head in both directions to give each twin a cold glare, and ripped the paper into tiny pieces. Afterwards, I picked my bag off the floor and shoved my notebook in it. Standing abruptly, the teacher turned and asked where I was going. Without answering, I walked out the door.

* * *

I returned to Ouran around lunchtime after I wandered throughout the town in order to calm down. I even stopped by Rei's to grab my electric guitar, but that's not important. What was important is that I heard shouting as I made my way to the front entrance.

Peeking around a corner of the building, I spot a small group of three people huddled around a girl. She seemed frightened of the guy in the middle. He was the source of the shouting. After listening closely to his words, I figured out that he was extremely angry that the girl rejected him.

I better step in before this goes too far.

I quietly strolled over to where the argument was occurring. Two of the guys turned as I approached, wondering who I was. As I made it to the four, I brushed against the main guy as I passed him. Finally, I slung my arm over the girl's shoulders.

The guy shut his mouth and appeared stunned.

I bent down slightly and whispered into the girl's ear,

"Trust me."

"Is this your boyfriend?" The idiot had regained his voice and made a sneer towards the girl. His tone of voice just did not sit right with me.

"Maybe I am. Who gives a fuck?" I wondered aloud with a calm voice. Everyone was taken aback by my language. Ah well, these rich kids will have to get used to it.

Before anyone could say anything, I grabbed the girl's hand and started to walk away. I had taken maybe three steps before I heard someone speak.

"Slut," someone muttered under their breath.

As my anger quickly rose, I did the ofirst thing that came to mind. I started a fight.

The poor fool was unable to process the fact that I was throwing a punch until my fist had already slammed into his face. As it connected with his nose, a river of blood began to flow and he dropped to the ground.

"Stop!" I could faintly hear the girl over the shouts that emitted from the other guys. I just kind of tuned her out.

I barely managed to sidestep one punch but was stunned by another. This led to me getting thrown to the ground.

Damn, these guys moved fast.

Being the cliché and predictable people they were, the two conscious ones began to kick me while I was down. Footsteps and yelling could be heard approaching. I needed to end this quickly.

Before foot could collide with my ribcage again, I reached out and grabbed a hold of it. Swiftly twisting it until I heard a pop, the guy fell to the ground in agony.

I had forgotten about the other guy, but he politely reminded me of his presence with a kick to the face.

Fuck, he busted my lip.

This was the thought that ran through my mind as I swung my leg around and swept his legs out from underneath him. This gave me enough time to stand and recover. I guess he had the same idea since he stood no less than five seconds after I did.

I could finally see the outline of what I assume to be a teacher rushing towards us. He was waving his arms in the air and screaming at us to stop.

I turned to focus on the person in front of me at the perfect moment to see his fist making its way towards my face. Evading the punch by leaning slightly to the right, I gripped his arm with both hands.

Man, the look of horror on his face was priceless.

Just as the teacher reached us, I pulled the person's arm forward while I jerked my head back. There was a sickening snap once my forehead made contact with his nose. He hit the ground, unconscious.

Without waiting for the teacher to begin yelling, I scooped up my items off the ground, grabbed the girl's hand, and started to run, pulling her along. She had asked me why I was doing so, but I ignored her. I was too concentrated on getting the teacher off our tracks.

We had ran into the school and down a couple of hallways. Turning a corner, I noticed a door. I opened said door and pulled the girl in with me before shutting it.

"Why are we in a supply closet?" She asked loudly. I put my finger to my lips and shushed her.

"Keep your voice down!" I whisper-yelled at her.

She grew silent as we heard footsteps approaching. Once they faded away, though, she began to interrogate me.

"Where did you come from, who are you, and why did you do that?!" She practically yelled at me.

"Man, could you slow down a bit? I was walking around, heard yelling, and decided to check it out. I'm Alex Fujioka, one of the honour students. You looked like you could have used the help," I answered all of her questions in the correct order.

She went silent. I pulled my iPod from my back pocket and checked the time.

"Come on, the bell's gonna ring soon. You don't want people to think we were in here doing other things, do you?" I spoke, breaking the silence. Since she was around Haruhi's height, I looked down at her to see her face was bright red.

I muffled my laughter as I opened the door and peered out into the hallway. Nobody was in sight. Good. Opening the door the rest of the way, we began walking, with the girl leading the way.

After a few minutes of walking, the bell rang and the hallway slowly began to fill up with students. Out of habit, I grabbed the girl's hand. She tensed up, but kept walking anyways. I usually do this with Haruhi whenever I become uncomfortable. It prevents me from figiting.

Once we made it to her class, a thought occurred to me. I had never gotten her name.

Oh well.

The bell rang, signaling that classes were beginning.

I could go back to class.

Nah, I need a nap.

* * *

"Alex, wake up," a voice said. I felt someone shaking my shoulders, but I brushed them off and rolled over.

The sound of giggling was what finally woke me up. I quickly pushed myself up and looked around.

Shit, club has started.

I had chosen to take my nap in Music Room 3. This room has become my 'napping area' or 'the place I go to when I am pissed but cannot leave school'.

"What the hell, Alex? Did you get into a fight?" The voice was Haruhi's, and she was not pleased with me.

Sitting up, I scratched the back of my head and smiled at her sheepishly.

I had cleaned up my face a bit before going to sleep. My lip was split and still a little red. The bleeding had stopped, though. Also, the black eye I gave myself the other day was almost gone. It was now a weird yellowish colour.

Haruhi had crossed her arms over her chest as she examined my face. She let out a sigh before telling me to follow her.

"Someone's requested us," she explained as we walked towards a table. Now that I am fully awake, I notice she is wearing an Ouran boys' uniform.

I'll ask her what she meant later.

She sat down at a table with a redheaded girl and, huh, the girl from earlier. I sat next to Haruhi.

"Ah, Haruhi, so nice of you to join us," the redhead said with fake enthusiasm.

"Hey, Alex. I didn't know you were a host," the other one said. "Oh yeah, my name's Maria."

Cool. That's a good name.

"Hush, I need to speak with Haruhi. Alex, why don't you go take Maria and play a song," the rude redhead ordered.

Maria did not hesitate to pull me out of my seat and away from the table. Damn, now I'll be all fidgety and awkward.

"Don't play anything offensive!" Haruhi yelled after us.

"Kyoya had a stage set up as well as a laptop with a ton of songs! Haruhi had told him which ones you liked," Maria exclaimed in excitement. "Oh yeah, Haruhi also moved your stuff over here before trying to wake you up."

She dragged me up the three steps leading to the stage and over to the laptop she had mentioned. She let go of my hand to scroll through the long list of songs. I took this as an opportunity to go ahead and get my guitar hooked up to an amp.

After a couple of minutes, I could hear Maria say, "You should play this one! It has my name in it!"

I just nodded and gave her an awkwards thumbs up as a signal to start playing it. I already had an idea as to which song she was talking about.

No need to be nervous. Just pretend that you're playing at Rei's. I shook my head as I approached the mic, and I began to sing.

_"I got your picture  
I'm coming with you  
Dear Maria, count me in  
There's a story at the bottom of this bottle  
And I'm the pen,_" I sang before strumming my guitar as all the instruments chimed in.

_"When the lights go up  
I want to watch the way you take the stage by storm  
The way you wrap those boys around your finger  
Go on and play the leader  
'Cause you know it's what you're good at;  
The low road for the fast track  
Make every second last_

_"'Cause I got your picture  
I'm coming with you  
Dear Maria, count me in  
There's a story at the bottom of this bottle  
And I'm the pen  
Make it count when I'm the one who's selling you out  
'Cause it feels like stealing hearts  
Calling your name from the crowd,_" I ended the first verse and chorus but continued to play the guitar, preparing for the next verse. Many of the guests had began watching me from their seats.

_"Live and let live  
You'll be the showgirl of the home-team  
I'll be the narrator  
Telling another tale of the American dream  
I see your name in lights  
We can make you a star  
Girl, we'll take the world by storm  
It isn't that hard..._," I playfully gave Maria a wink before beginning the second singing of the chorus.

_"'Cause I got your picture  
I'm coming with you  
Dear Maria, count me in  
There's a story at the bottom of this bottle  
And I'm the pen  
Make it count when I'm the one who's selling you out  
'Cause it feels like stealing hearts  
Calling your name from the crowd  
Whoa..._," I paused in my singing for a split second before tilting my head back and letting out a short laugh. From there, I finished the song.

_"Take a breath  
Don't it sound so easy?  
Never had a doubt  
Now I'm going crazy  
Watching from the floor_

_"Take a breath  
And let the rest come easy  
Never settle down  
'Cause the cash flow leaves me  
Always wanting more_

_"'Cause I got your picture  
I'm coming with you  
Dear Maria, count me in  
There's a story at the bottom of this bottle  
And I'm the pen  
Make it count when I'm the one who's selling you out  
'Cause it feels like stealing hearts  
Calling your name from the crowd_

_"'Cause I got your picture  
I'm coming with you  
Dear Maria, count me in  
There's a story at the bottom of this bottle..."_

Just as the song ended, I could hear the shattering of glass. I turned to see what seemed to be Haruhi pinning the redhead to the ground. The table had been knocked over in the process. I could hear the redhead shouting out that Haruhi had attacked her. Before I could make my way towards the scene, the twins had appeared and poured a pitcher of water over the two.

Apparently the redhead had been tormenting Haruhi all day. That's why she sent Maria and me off.

I could feel my anger slowly creeping up, but I shook it off. There's no reason to create any more of a scene.

Hani and Mori had begun escorting the other guests out of the room while Tamaki was talking to the redhead. She was refusing to leave the club. I chose that as my queue to join the group.

I had quickly walked over to them and picked the girl up, tossing her over my shoulder.

"Put me down, you commoner!" She screamed at me. I just ignored her and began singing a song that had popped into my head the first time I met her.

_"What am I supposed to do?  
Oh, oh  
When she's so damn cold  
Like twenty below  
That girl, that girl  
She's such a bitch  
But I tell myself I can handle it_," I had set her out in the hallway while I was singing and slammed the door shut when I was done.

I made my way towards Haruhi, ignoring the looks of the hosts. I made sure she was okay, and Kyoya gave her an extra uniform to change into.

As we waited for her to emerge from the changing room, Tamaki accidentally kicked something that was on the floor. It just so happened to be Haruhi's wallet. The wallet that held her identification.

"Haruhi, y-you're a girl?" He stuttered at the same moment Haruhi walked out of the dressing room.

She was given one of the hideous girls' uniforms. It fit her well, except for the front. Her flat chest left the extra fabric loose and deflated. Before she could speak I rushed past her, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back into the dressing room.

"Give me the dress," I ordered as I began taking my shirt off.

"Why?" she asked. I turned towards her and grabbed the fabric that hovered over her chest.

"Because your flat chest cannot fit into this dress. My chest, on the other hand, can fill it. Now, give me the dress," I explained, throwing the shirt at her.

Once she had put her clothes back on, Haruhi handed me the dress and went to talk to the hosts.

I slipped out of my binder and pants before stepping into the dress. I pulled the sleeves over my arm and made an attempt at zipping the back up myself.

Damn it, Haruhi, how were you able to do this?

I gave up and stuck my head out the door.

The twins were teasing Tamaki about something, Kyoya was on his laptop, Hani and Mori were talking, and Haruhi was watching everyone. I waved at Haruhi to get her attention.

"I can't get the zipper," I mouthed to her. She gave a small smile and came over to help me with my problem.

I took a small step out of the door and turned around. Haruhi reached down and began zipping the dress up.

As she did so, I could hear a loud gasp.

"What's wrong, boss?" The twins asked. So it was Tamaki that gasped.

"Alex-chan looks pretty!" Hani exclaimed before Tamaki could answer.

I grabbed Haruhi's shoulders and hid behind her. It did not work as well as I hoped for since I was a couple of inches taller than her.

"So you're a girl, too?" Hikaru said.

"Who would've guessed," Kaoru finished his thoughts.

I felt a hand around my wrist before I was yanked out from behind Haruhi.

"Doesn't she look pretty, Takashi?" Hani questioned his friend, pulling me along with him.

"Hm," was Mori's response as he nodded.

A loud thud sounded near the door to the club room, and all of our head snapped towards the noise.

Maria stood in the doorway, a pile of books surrounding her feet.

"Y-you're a girl?" she wondered aloud from where she stood.

This is bad. This is bad, bad, bad.

I gave no explanation as I ripped my wrist from Hani's grip and ran out the door. I brushed past Maria on the way, but I didn't look back.


	4. Chapter 4

My heart was pounding erratically in my chest as I busted through the door to the cafe. Sweat was dripping from my face, and I struggled to catch my breath.

"Are you okay, Alex?" asked Rei from where she stood behind the counter. I furiously shook my head.

"Can't breathe," I somehow managed to choke out. I had felt another panic attack begin to surface. I guess it hadn't helped that all eyes were on me.

"Okay, everyone, back to your own business," Rei urged her customers. Everybody slowly resumed their previous conversations. With no other words, I walked around the counter and headed up a set of stairs.

Rei's home resided above the cafe. She loved it, because it meant that she could sleep up until opening time. I loved it as well. Rei had allowed me to turn her guest room into my room. This is where I stored all of my memories.

Upon entering my room, I immediately locked the door. While I was tearing my way out of the dress, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll be down in a second," I shouted to inform whoever was outside my door. Grabbing the first outfit I found, I threw it on and went back down to the cafe.

A cup of coffee was placed in front of me as soon as I sat down at a table. I glanced up at Rei and mumbled a thanks.

"Care to share?" she wondered. I took a sip of the caffeine filled drink as she settled herself in the seat across from me.

"Not really," I muttered before taking another sip.

Rei opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by the sound of a bell, signaling a new customer.

Thank you, random person. These were my thoughts as Rei stood up. That is until, I found out who the random person was.

"You really think she'll be here?" a familiar voice worried.

Fuck you, host club.

I ignored everyone as they all sat at the round table with me. Haruhi was on my left, and Maria on my right. The other hosts just awkwardly chose seats. Rei joined us after a minute and set some mugs and a cake on the table.

"Well, Haruhi, since Alex doesn't feel like talking, do you wanna explain?" she practiacally demanded. I just stared down at my coffee while Haruhi explained tha days events to Rei.

"And then she ran here," Haruhi summed up. I could feel all eyes on me in an attempt to make me explain.

I felt trapped under their gazes. Determined to find a way out, I stood up, causing my chair to scoot back a bit. I made my way to the stairs, ignoring Rei's voice shouting after me.

* * *

"I'm sorry. Alex hasn't been this reclusive since, well, nevermind," Rei apologized for her friend. She then turned her attention to Maria.

"Well, hello there. I haven't seen you here before. My name's Rei," she introduced herself.

Maria somewhat shyly replied, "I'm Maria. I go to school with Alex."

"I can tell," observed Rei while motioning to the uniform that the girl was wearing. This caused Maria to slightly blush with embarrassment.

Rei stood next to the table looking over everyone. She seemed to be thoroughly searching everyone's souls, looking for their deepest fears and darkest secrets. Finally satisfied with her findings, Rei plopped down in the seat Alex had been sitting in. She leaned over to the girl on her left.

"You think these guys will help?" Rei whispered in Haruhi's ear worriedly.

"It's not like they could do any damage," she whispered back.

By now, the hosts and Maria had started up a conversation on the next theme for the club. Rei glanced around the table with hopeful eyes.

* * *

"What year is it?" I groaned, rolling over to check the time. I guess I passed out after I stormed off to my room. Well, I technically fell asleep, but what's the difference?

Finally able to see the clock, I read the time. Noon. I thought I might as well get up and start the day. Detangling myself from the blankets, I changed clothes and was somewhat ready for the day.

I left my room and found Rei sitting at the kitchen counter on her laptop. Hearing my footsteps, she looked up.

"Glad to see you're alive and well," was how she greeted me. I made an inhuman noise that vaguely resembled "you too".

"Haruhi called this morning. She'll be dropping by after school to give you your work," informed Rei. I told her to remind me to thank Haruhi later and fell onto the couch.

I turned the television on and began to flip through the channels. A plate of food was set infront of me after about two hours of tv. Sitting up, I glanced over at Rei and thanked her before digging into my food.

It was a simple omelette, but it tasted fantastic.

"Are you gonna open the cafe today?" I asked as I brought my half empty plate to the kitchen. Rei took a look at my plate and sighed.

"No, but you need to finish that food," she ordered.

"I'm not hungry," I replied. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"How long have you been 'not hungry'?" Rei worried. Ignoring her, I made my way back to the couch. She let out a frustrated sigh but left me alone. I watched tv for another hour before the bell rang downstairs.

I guess Haruhi is here.

"Can you go let Haruhi in?" Rei asked since she was busy on her laptop. I shut the tv off knowing that my twin would force me into doing the schoolwork and made my way down the stairs.

The stairway was dark, and I almost fell a couple of times. Eventually, I made it to the door unscathed. I unlocked then opened the door to let Haruhi in only to notice she was not alone.

"Hi, I tagged along with Haruhi in order to check up on you," Maria rambled. "I understand if you don't want me here, but-"

"Just get inside before I shut the door, it's too damn bright outside," I complained. My eyes burned from the sunlight pouring in through the door. Since neither Rei nor me opened up the curtains all day, I've been sitting in almost complete darkness. We did turn on a few lamps, though.

I led the way back upstairs and sat back down on the couch. Haruhi threw her backpack next to me and pulled out two notebooks. Maria shuffled over and sat on the other side of me.

"All you really have to do is copy notes," Haruhi explained whilst she handed me the aforementioned notebooks. Sweet, this meant I could put it off until later. Hooray for procrastination!

"I know what you're thinking. Go ahead and get this out of the way. You can go back to whatever you were doing after," she continued, somehow reading my mind. I grumbled under my breath but began copying anyways.

"Hey, Haruhi," Rei welcomed, emerging from her room. Huh, I never noticed she was gone. "Oh, hey, Maria."

"Hello, Rei," replied Maria. She seemed to hesitate before speaking again. "I couldn't help but notice you have an accent. Where are you from?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm from America," she answered, taking a seat on the other couch adjacent to the one I was currently sitting on. "But my accent is nothing compared to Alex's"

This caused Maria's head to quickly turn towards me, and my head shot up from my work. I gave Rei a "what the hell" look, obviously not wanting to talk about myself.

Thankfully, our peace was interrupted by a noise from downstairs.

"The fuck was that?" I wondered aloud. Having jumped from my seat at the sound, I cautiously began to walk towards the door; Rei ushered Haruhi and Maria into her room.

Someone breaking in wasn't all that unusual. There was a bar down the street after all. Drunken idiots were a common occurance, and I was always to one to deal with them.

Edging my way down the stairs, I tried my best to make no sound. I ducked into the kitchen once inside the cafe. Whispers were coming from the other side of the counter. After a few moments of silence, I could hear footsteps going behind the counter and to the stairs. I chose this as my time to knock the idiots out.

As I threw a blind punch at whoever it was, it never landed. Instead, I let out a pained groan as I was slammed onto the counter.

"Alex-chan?!" a bubbly voice seemed shocked.

I was still a little dazed, but I clearly saw the host club staring at me with various degrees of concern.

"Oh, hell no," I said as I regained focus.


	5. Author's Note

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates. This story hasn't turned out as well as I planned. I'm thinking of doing a rewrite. Hopefully, the new version will help me out of writer's block. I'll post to this story when I actually find the time to start the rewrite. Thanks for all of the feedback, you guys are the best!


	6. Info on Rewrite

It's me again. I just wanted to inform all of my lovely readers that I have posted the rewwrtie. It is titled: _Rediscovering Happiness. _I will post a link at the end of this. I hope you guys like it equally as much as you have liked this version.

My plan is to update the rewrite as frequetly as I can. Thank you guys for being patient with me.

Now, please go read it and leave a review telling me what you think of it.

s/11592636/1/Rediscovering-Happiness


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